The history of K-12 geography education has been characterized by recurrent high hopes and dashed expectations. There have, however, been moments when the trajectory of geography education might have changed to offer students the opportunity to develop a thorough working knowledge of geography. Lucy Sprague Mitchell's geography program developed…

A novel method to create a physicalization of Digital Earth resulted a new type of analogue and tactile geographic information system (GIS). The model was tested by students in Australia, who shared insights into how the model supported their learning about the concept of "overlay" while providing an interesting and engaging learning…

Geospatial weather data is readily available to learners. However, the interpretation and understanding of this data requires the utilization of geospatial thinking skills. This study examined the impacts of a Web-based, collaborative inquiry Hurricane Irma GIS learning module on AP environmental science students' hurricane knowledge and spatial…

Computers and geospatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems, Google Earth, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) are increasingly common tools for geography instruction in schools. The NAEP Data Explorer was used to conduct an analysis of geography achievement in the eighth grade based on differences in students' access to and…

This study examined the effects of observing and reflecting on everyday environments in the development of environmental sensitivity, defined as a holistic capability composed of predisposition, knowledge, and behavior subdimensions. We encouraged participants to use diverse sources, such as texts, photographs, and animation, to record their…

K-12 geography education is often grouped with other subjects, limiting student exposure to geospatial technology and geographic inquiry. We explored the implementation of geospatial technology in North Carolina K-12 schools through a forty-four-question survey. Educators shared their teaching methods, geospatial technology integration, and…

Geospatial technologies, such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and GPS have been used in a variety of educational settings to help improve student learning. A sample of 53 high school seniors was recruited from the Geospatial Semester (GSS), a course that emphasizes the use of GIS for problem-solving and students in AP…

The goal of the present study was to characterize high school students' (n = 338) exposure to geospatial technologies and investigate factors predicting enrollment in a GIS course. Students who reported using GIS were almost 10 times more likely to enroll than students without experience using GIS. Males were more than 3 times more likely to…

This article describes the findings of a qualitative phenomenographic study that explored students' engagement from the perspective of the students. It describes how the participants perceived their engagement when they learned social studies using GIS Story Maps. Qualitative data collection involved classroom observations, student-written…

This article presents the results of research on how ten-year-old children in an unfamiliar environment perceive the surroundings of the route during their wayfinding when they focus on the task of successfully orienting themselves with two different sources of cartographic support: a mobile navigator and a paper map. The results show that the…

Preparing learners for the future requires twenty-first-century teaching that integrates professional tools in the classroom. Geospatial technologies (GST), which represent geographical professional technologies, lack robust integration in high school geography. Researchers continue to ask why educators teach about rather than with GST.…

AP Human Geography students need to develop an understanding of what it means to examine the world around them from a geographic perspective. Focusing attention on geography's concern with spatial relationships, place characteristics, and geographic context helps student appreciate the nature of the discipline and the insights it offers. These…

This article presents the findings of a study to determine the degree of consistency in what is taught and learned in high school and college-level introductory courses in geographic information science and technology (GIS&T). A content analysis identified sixteen topics that are generally representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities…

The development of location-aware technologies, such as smartphones, raises serious questions regarding locational privacy and the ethical use of geographic data. The degree to which these concepts are taught in undergraduate geographic information science (GISci) courses is unknown. A survey of GISci educators shows that issues of privacy and…

This work shares a time-sensitive framework for teaching GIS to educators of all levels and disciplines. Existing relationships with teachers enabled the addition of GIS content in professional development activities. The amount of time devoted to GIS-related content varied depending on time made available for interaction with the audience.…